Senegal & body treatments: shea, baobab and steam
Here, body care began at home, long before beauty salons. The basic routine comes in two steps, and it has not changed: you rid the skin of what the climate leaves on it, then you nourish it with a locally made butter or oil.
Shea butter is the first of these. It comes from the nuts of a savannah tree that grows in the south-east of the country: in Kédougou Region, women’s groups gather the nuts and turn them into butter. Dense, melting on contact with the skin, it goes on the areas that feel tight, elbows, knees, heels, and on skin stretched by the sun.
Baobab oil is the second. The baobab appears on the coat of arms of the Republic, and people eat it before they rub it on: the pulp of its fruit goes into juices and desserts, and its dried leaves, lalo, go into millet couscous. The oil itself is extracted from the seeds, cold-pressed. Lighter than shea, it absorbs quickly and works well for massage and dry skin. You will find both products in the country’s markets and shops: they are the best souvenir to take home, and the best way to make a treatment last.
The hammam is the other pillar, Maghrebi in inspiration and well established in Dakar’s beauty salons. It brought its own products, which are worth telling apart. West African black soap is a solid soap, made from plant ashes and local oils such as shea: it cleanses deeply. Moroccan beldi black soap is a soft paste made with olive oil that does not lather: you spread it on to soften the skin in the steam, before scrubbing it with the glove, and you often finish with a mask of rhassoul, a Moroccan clay.
A word on our line, which applies to the whole wellness & relaxation section. In Senegal, the Press Code bans advertising for depigmenting products in the media. The treatments presented here cleanse, soften and nourish your skin as it is; none of them promises to change its colour.
Formats: from an express hammam to a bridal package
- Hammam: humid heat, black soap, a scrub with the glove. In Dakar, in a simple or more complete format, around an hour. It is the most complete treatment for skin clogged with dust.
- Body scrub: the short treatment, about half an hour, that removes dead skin and leaves your skin smooth. There is also an oriental version with black soap, over an hour.
- Sand scrub: in Cap Skirring, in a salon, 45 minutes of scrubbing with fine sand. The natural grain exfoliates gently; you shower afterwards and moisturise.
- Scrub + body wrap: after exfoliation, a mask or wrap (seaweed, clay) left to set on the body. Allow 1 to 1½ hours: it is the treatment to choose after several days of sun.
- Machine-based treatments and wood therapy: between Saly and Ngaparou, one-hour sessions with a machine or a body wrap; in Dakar, wood therapy (madérothérapie), a firm massage with wooden tools. These are cosmetic comfort treatments whose effect varies from one person to another; they replace neither medical advice nor a healthy lifestyle.
- Packages: in Dakar, massage + scrub, scrub + wrap + massage, facial + scrub + massage for up to 1¾ hours, or a wedding preparation pack that combines a scrub, a facial, a pedicure and a manicure. In Cap Skirring, a package brings together a facial and a massage in 45 minutes.
To choose, start from what your skin has been through: dust and sweat, a scrub is enough; several days of sun and salt, add a body wrap; in need of real relaxation, take a package with a traditional massage.
Where to get a body treatment in Senegal
- Dakar: the widest menu, in beauty salons, from a half-hour scrub to the full ritual. This is where you will find the hammam, the oriental scrub, body wraps and most of the packages.
- Saly and Ngaparou, on the Petite Côte: body scrubs, body wraps and one-hour machine-based treatments. It is also the natural stop on your way back from a safari in nearby Bandia Reserve: track dust comes off better under a glove than under the hotel shower.
- Cap Skirring, in Casamance: the sand scrub in a salon, and a facial + massage package. The right slot is late afternoon, when you come back from the beach.
When to get a body treatment
A body treatment happens indoors: you can book one all year round. The season mainly decides the type of treatment. During the dry season, from November to May, and even more when the harmattan blows, mainly from December to February, the skin loses water and gets covered in fine dust: a scrub followed by a nourishing body wrap is the pairing of the season. During the rainy season (hivernage), from July to October, the humid heat makes you sweat and the hammam’s steam seems less tempting: a short scrub and a cool shower do the job better.
On your personal calendar, two moments stand out. The last day of a beach holiday or a safari, so you leave with clear skin rather than weathered skin. And the days before a wedding or a naming ceremony: plan the scrub two or three days before the big day, not the day before, to give any redness time to fade.
Good to know & budget
Before the treatment. Do not shave or wax just before a scrub: your skin would be irritated. Mention any allergy, sunburn, wound or sensitive skin. Before a hammam, also say if you are pregnant, if you have blood pressure issues or are on medication: humid heat is not to be taken lightly. Bring a change of clothes.
Not on sunburn. A scrub on sunburnt skin hurts and damages it further. If you have caught the sun at the beach, wait a few days and simply moisturise.
After the treatment. Drink water, especially after a hammam. Avoid the sun in the hours that follow, and to keep the benefit, moisturise that same evening: a little shea butter or baobab oil does the job very well. After a machine-based treatment or a body wrap, wear loose clothing.
What a treatment is not. A body treatment cleanses, softens and relaxes. It does not make you lose weight, does not cure a skin disease and does not replace a consultation: for a skin reaction that persists, see a dermatologist.
Booking and paying. The price of each treatment is shown on its listing, per person; it varies with the format and the length, and some listings can be booked on your own or for two. You pay 20% to secure your booking (the booking fee), and the balance is paid on site, on the day of the appointment. There are no additional official fees. If you live in Senegal, you get the resident rate: up to 30% off (the exact rate is shown on each listing).
Who is it for?
If you are a resident, Senegalese or expatriate, you will find a maintenance appointment to fit around the seasons: a hammam at the height of the harmattan, a scrub before the holidays, a preparation package before a family wedding, with the resident rate as a bonus. If you are a visitor, you will use it more as a way to decompress: the evening after a safari at Bandia, the last late afternoon in Cap Skirring, or in Dakar before the flight, to go home with skin that has forgotten the salt and the dust. To round things off, see facial treatments, pedicure or, to end the day by the water, beach & relaxation days.
The best advert for shea butter is not found in a beauty salon, but on the shores of Lac Rose (Pink Lake). The people who harvest salt from the bottom of the lake spend hours in water so salty it attacks the skin. Before going in, they coat their bodies with shea butter: a layer of plant fat, and the skin holds up. The routine the beauty salons offer you after a week on the beach, they carry out every morning, so they can work.
Frequently asked questions
What’s the difference between a body treatment and a massage?
A body treatment looks after the skin: cleansing, exfoliating and nourishing it, with a hammam, a scrub or a body wrap. A massage works on the muscles and on relaxation; it has its own category. The packages in Dakar and Cap Skirring let you combine the two.
Can I have a scrub after a day at the beach?
Yes, it’s actually the right time, as long as you haven’t got sunburnt. On burnt skin, wait a few days and simply moisturise.
How long does a body treatment last?
From half an hour for a simple scrub in Dakar to 1½ hours for a scrub followed by a body wrap; 45 minutes for the sand scrub in Cap Skirring, an hour for the treatments in Saly, and up to 1¾ hours for the most complete packages.
Do machine-based treatments help you lose weight?
No. They are cosmetic comfort treatments whose effect varies from one person to another. They are not a medical treatment and don’t replace health advice, especially if you are pregnant or on medication.
How does payment work?
You pay 20% to secure your booking (the booking fee), and the balance is paid on site, on the day of the appointment. The price is shown per person on each listing, with no additional official fees; if you live in Senegal, you get the resident rate: up to 30% off (the exact rate is shown on each listing).
